DIY Disaster

I emptied the Pringles can at lunch and had the great idea to make into a toy for Baby.  I poured some lima beans into the empty can, taped the lid shut, and brought it into the living room where she was happily playing.  I was feeling pretty clever, you guys.  Yes, she was going to love this, and I was an amazingly resourceful mom.  Baby heard the rattle as I entered the room and immediately started crying--full throttle complete crisis crying.

I sat down next to her and smiled.  It's okay, Baby.  It's just a new toy.  She crawled into my lap and I sat the Pringles can on the floor.  She held my shirt tightly as she glared at the Pringles Man.

What's your problem, kid?  Millions of Americans LOVE me!

Baby absolutely loves faces, so I thought for sure this fellow would win her over--but she just stared at him, knuckles white, unconvinced and unimpressed.  I moved the can closer and she tentatively picked it up.  It rattled and she started crying again.  Yes, things were going just as I had planned.

I sat the can on the coffee table and re-grouped.  I smiled and told her that the Pringles meant no harm.  We read a book and had a tickle fight.  She seemed calm and started to play with her other toys.  Starving, I stood up to fetch the lunch that I had just finished preparing prior to The Pringles Meltdown of 2013: a turkey sandwich complete with a stack of the last few Pringles.  Okay, there may have also been bacon.  WHAT, DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT.

I don't know who I was fooling, I couldn't make it two steps away without Baby having a total meltdown, sobbing hysterically as she chased me across the floor.  My "brillant" DIY moment was repaid over the next hour and a half with Baby glued to my side, creeping cautiously around the room, always one eye on the Pringles man and one eye on mommy.

Every once in a while, she would burst into tears, and I would hold her close and apologize again.  So, congratulations, Pringles Man!  You have successfully buried my victorious Mommy Moment underneath an avalanche of your original flavored and deceptively delicious chips.